Greene King had a very merry Christmas Day with record sales of £7.7 million, the pubs and brewing giant said today.
The FTSE 250 firm added that comparable sales increased 3.2% in the 36 weeks to January 6. In the two weeks to New Year, they were up 10.9%.
Barclays analyst Richard Taylor said: “This is clearly a positive statement over a key trading period.”
The shares rose 22p to 575.2p.
Greene King, which operates 2798 sites, also said it will press ahead with cost-saving plans as it grapples with food price inflation and rising wages.
It is on track to dispose of up to 110 pubs this year and limit cost inflation to between £10 million and £20 million.
Greene King, whose boss Rooney Anand is stepping down at the end of April, said that while Brexit uncertainty may hit consumer confidence, “we remain confident for of our outlook for the financial year”.
